Band07

It took me 3 weeks and 3 days to feel anything remotely normal again ! Now part of this was because I also ended up with pneumonia in both lungs but, still it takes time. Just focus on fluids and rest often and you'll be fine.

I actually had a rough patch after I posted last, I ended up in the ER with dehydration and pneumonia in both lungs! That slowed down my recovery quite a bit so I didn't really feel like myself again until about 3 weeks and 2 days post op. I'm eating regular foods and I know the MGB is working because I've gotten every well acquainted with agent orange !! Lol I've lost about 18 lbs which I knew my weight loss would be slow. I'm only about 25 lbs from goal now.

I am 4 weeks out and Iv lost about 18 lbs, I pretty much did nothing but gain the last year with my sleeve so I'm happy with this so far. Also I'm only about 20/25 lbs from my goal so I know it will be slower coming off.

Are you taking Prilosec ?

I had a mini bypass on Thursday and went back on Tuesday. Yes I was very tired but it was manageable.

I can't answer for sure as everyone is different, but I only had it about the first 6 months.

Obviously your dietician is wrong. You should educate her so she is not giving false information. Feel free to reference the actual study that was conducted by professionals that I referenced in my earlier post which proves this to be fact.

I had surgery on Thursday evening and I went back to work on Tuesday. I work an office job so it's not hard. One week later I was in the ER with dehydration and pneumonia In both lungs. I left the ER and went back to work the next day. I had a hard recovery due to the pneumonia and complete exhaustion. I made it to work but then went straight home to the couch. Had I not had the pneumonia I would have been fine but even with it and feeling completely miserable for 3 weeks post op, I still went back to work.

Thanks ! I sent you a PM, I want to hear all about how it went for you !!

I did one week of clear liquids, one week of full liquids (protein shakes and cream soups, yogurt) then a week of purée like apple sauce and really runny mashed potatoes and then a week of cottage cheese, refried beans type foods before moving onto soft regular foods.

Everyone is a little different, but don't judge it while you're on liquids and puréed because usually those go down easier. You will notice more restriction when you move on to real foods again. Just go slow because chances are you will be numb for awhile and not really feel full so just go with a couple ounces every few hours and work your way up from there. Staying hydrated is the most important thing right now and then vitamins and protein, also watch your salt intake as in you will need to add salt or some even lick it off the palm of their hand to be sure to get enough. Gatorade is a great option too for electrolytes. Don't rush too soon into advancing foods though, your body's been through a lot. My support staff isn't great either because I had surgery in Mexico this last time but I worked with a bariatric surgeon for over six years and I had my band in 2007 so I'm no stranger to weight loss surgery. I'll try to help if you have questions.

Hi there ! Wow, you've been through a lot in a short time !! I'm glad you are doing better. I had my MGB on 4/23 I was a revision from the sleeve which was a revision from the band (yep, 3 for me). Your first question is hard to answer because your sleeve was so new and also because the first part of the MGB is basically the sleeve. In other words your experience will be different than mine because I was a sleeve patient for 2 years. I would guess your experience will be exactly like that of an MGB patient since essentially that's what you had only in a 2 step process. In fact I once read that Dr. Rutledge commented that he if had performed 100 MGBs then he had performed 100 gastric sleeves. My experience is different because restrictive procedures are not new to my body and my portion size is much larger than yours will be. As far as juicing, I'm a huge fan !! I have a breville and I love Joe Cross ! Just be aware of your fruits, too much sugar even natural sugars may not agree with your new insides and could cause dumping. The other thing is you won't get much protein from juicing and it may not keep you full long so I would prob supplement with it and not make it a primary form of nutrition. Hope this helps !!

Sorry, your doctors are wrong. Here is an actual study proving it does happen. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/21647622/

I could eat a whole egg, and I could drink a whole shake, don't let them get in your head, a lot of patients don't feel a big difference till they are eating real foods that take up more room.

It's not as common with sleeve patients, but it does sometimes happen. I'm not sure the logistics of it but I know for sure that's what I experienced the first six months. It made eating out almost impossible because of all of the hidden fats and sugars. I know I responded the same way to the fats because i couldn't eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant at all because of the lard they cook with.

She said chicken tenders there is a difference and I buy them fresh and bread them myself with my own seasonings and then bake them and yes, they are delicious !

I make my own at home, and also home made honey mustard sauce !! Yum !

You weren't asking a typical question. You were asking for research and specific medical proof/studies. Big diff. No, I was actually asking people to be responsible for the information they contribute by backing it up with facts and evidence instead of just pulling it out of their a$$ ! What the heck was I thinking !?!

First of all, what kind of "support" forum would this be if anytime someone asked a question they were told to "not ask strangers" and "ask your doctor" I imagine the entire site would not exist or at least be minus a few thousand threads as that's what 90 % of us do here is ask questions to strangers. Second, my situation is pretty simple, I was banded and not only lost all my weight but maintained it for 6 years but bands being bands, it needed to come out, when it did my surgeon made my "sleeve" very large due to all the scar tissue which made it easily stretch out ( I know you don't believe they stretch) and I gained 40 lbs so before it turned into more I had my sleeve revised to keep from gaining more and continue with my journey. Not one of those things was impacted by listening or not listening to my surgeon or anyone else. Third, I started my questions because I found this thread interesting and because I noticed a lot of comments saying how dangerous it was and it sparked my interest even more. Like I said, I enjoy learning and research and i was looking for some helpful answers. Simple as that. Sure I could email my surgeon but i again won't get any actual research or proven statistics, he already advised I weight 3 months, 3 months is nothing, I'm not a big drinker, like I said, I was just interested in the topic and in knowing what others had been told, I wasn't trying to start a new battle in what already appeared to be a war.

Mind you, this information is for people with whole functioning stomachs. Not fresh surgical lines, staples, and a stomach reduced to the point where a small ulcer could be major.: Put simply, alcohol irritates your digestive system. Drinking – even a little – makes your stomach produce more acid than usual, which can in turn cause gastritis (the inflammation of the stomach lining). This triggers tummy pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in heavy drinkers, even bleeding. On the less serious end of the scale, drinking can make it more difficult to digest food and absorb vital nutrients. That’s because alcohol reduces the amount of digestive enzymes which the pancreas produces to help us to break down the fats and carbohydrates we eat (1). (1) NHS Choices website, Gastroesophageal reflux disease: introduction. The Information Standard member organisation. Last reviewed: 29/05/2014. Available at:http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Gastroesophageal-reflux-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx Thank you ! That is the most helpful comment Iv read on this entire thread ! Interesting and also thought provoking, makes sense too.

Thank you, but again, that only clarifies what Iv already stated. Is it dangerous to my healing process ? Does it effect my staple line ? Will it cause a leak? Will it irritate my recently cut up insides ? That's what i want to know. And just for the record, I would have no problem never drinking again, I only ever do it 2-3x a year anyway and that's usually only on vacations, but I can't help it, I crave knowledge and education. I just want to know.

In other words you have no answers for my questions so you try to insult me by calling it rationalizing ? You should be "out" then because you obviously have nothing worth while to contribute to the conversation. I was stating a very valid point and being completely genuine with my response and the reason for my questions, in NO WAY is that "rationalizing" anything.

Some people may, but I am not some people. Why would educating yourself and others through valid evidence based research ever be a waste of time ?

My program is very conservative, particularly about alcohol. The transference of addictions was the main concern, as nutritionist, surgeons, psycholologist, and nurses all discussed with me during all stages of this process. I drank maybe a glass of wine a month before surgery, so didn't quite understand what the big deal was. Well after they showed the research during our various meetings...I no longer questioned the importance of being aware of this problem. Combine the research proven issues of addiction, empty calories, stress on the liver after a major surgery, not to mention my new tummy is so small I really don't want to waste space on alcohol...I choose not to go against my program's rules in regards to alcohol. Just not worth it in my opinion. But something I've learned on boards...some people rationalize/loosely interpret their programs rules...so my words or the words of way more experienced/successful others is taken offense to or just ignored anyways no matter how much logic is provided. Folks will do what they want to do period. Again this seems like program recommendations, where is the research you speak of that was presented to you ? I would like to see that.I am a librarian so research is my thing. However, I'm leery of spending my time locating the research for you when a simple Google search using the key words, "alcohol dependence bariatric surgery" returns quite a few results. Seems like this issue is no secret. If I thought it would make a difference & you would use this info in a responsible manner, I'd hop on that research for you. But Something tells me that you are going to do what you want to do anyways. What I don't get is why not save time & take your surgeon's & the many folks on this board's word for it. I mean we can't all be blindly following our programs plans without logic & reason... right? That's where you would be wrong. If I read that there was proof that drinking too soon would effect my healing insides I definitely would not do it. I did do a quick search and yes like I said originally, I found information supporting things like liquid calories (no brainer) transfer addiction ( I'm an 8 yr bariatric surgery vet, if I was in danger of this it would have happened when I lost over 100lbs with the band) and alcohol entering the blood stream faster ( I experienced this with the sleeve) what I didn't find and what I'm asking for is research that it somehow is dangerous to my healing process. Iv had 3 procedures from 3 different surgeons and they all said something different. I also worked in bariatric surgery for 6 years and I know for a fact that surgeons often just go with what they feel or what sounds good and don't always have great scientific research to back it up, a perfect example of this would be the insane differences in post op diets ! So, being an educated person, I prefer to take my surgeons recommendations but also do my own research and then make an informed decision about what I feel best suits my personal situation so sure you could see that as "I'm going to do whatever I want anyway" and while in the end that may be true I'm also going to have a good evidence based reason for doing so.

In that case, I apologize.